Sometimes you have to look back to look ahead. For example, let’s take a look at IR’s journey from the backroom to the boardroom over the past five years, starting with an excerpt from a 2014 presentation. Then let’s fast forward to the 2019 Spring Seminar and Trade Show where Tate Duncan, Sr. Sustainable […]

Doing business in a way that’s good for People, the Planet, and Profits—and as surplus management professionals, we’re in the middle.
My journey with Investment Recovery (IR) and the Investment Recovery Association began in 2007. At first, I thought IR was only about the revenue, but as I dug deeper to evaluate exactly what we […]

Hard to believe, but it’s 2016 already. The new year with new beginnings. A fresh start for making personal and business resolutions for a healthier lifestyle and bottom line. As American citizens, we tune into the president’s annual State of the Union address every January to look at the past—and hopefully get a jump on […]

Charity’s “Hybrid Vehicle”. How Goodwill’s Dual Model Succeeds
Donated goods are not an endpoint but a means for building stronger communities
It’s that time of year. Bells are ringing and red kettles are filling with loose change. But Goodwill International is much more than volunteer Santas and thrift stores. In a remarkable system of “redeployment,” Goodwill turns […]

By Sean Magann
With an expanding variety of uses, smartphones, laptops and tablets are among the most useful tools in business. These devices are providing convenience for companies and customers alike, such as mobile point-of-sale (POS) systems, while also providing sales and business executives more options to handle business tasks while away from their desks.
Different versions of […]

The practice of investment recovery involves practical cost-saving measures that provide significant value to their organizations. IR also embraces a higher-level purpose of sustainability and stewardship of resources that benefit society; however, beyond the specialized focus of investment recovery for individual companies, perhaps the highest approach in seeking to redefine the global production and […]

​Investment Recovery has been part of sustainability business strategy even before greening the supply chain and business sustainability became popular. Basic sustainability concepts of vendor buy-back programs, recycling, refurbishing and reuse are embedded in investment recovery practices. Yet, investment recovery can go even further. What role does investment recovery play in corporate sustainability?

AKHSHTYR, Russia — Trucks rumble to the edge of a gigantic pit filled with spray cans, tires and foam sheets and dump a stream of concrete slabs that send up a cloud of limestone dust. Other trucks pile clay on top while a bulldozer mixes everything together in a rudimentary effort to hide the […]

AKHSHTYR, Russia — Trucks rumble to the edge of a gigantic pit filled with spray
cans, tires and foam sheets and dump a stream of concrete slabs that send up a
cloud of limestone dust. Other trucks pile clay on top while a bulldozer mixes
everything together in a rudimentary effort to hide the mess. This landfill outside
Sochi, which will host the Winter Olympics February 7–23, 2014, is smack in the
middle of a water protection zone where dumping industrial waste is banned.

The Case for Doing the Right Thing: More and more companies now recognize
that creating a sustainable supply chain is more than just the right thing
to do—it’s a requisite to business success. Sustainability today resembles
the quality movement of three decades ago. As with quality, there was initial
resistance to “going green.” But it soon became apparent that the benefits
were far too great to ignore. And done right, sustainability can be free.